John F. Nash
Author, teacher,
and traditional Reiki healing practitioner
Dr. John Francis Nash has lived in the United States since the 1960s. He earned baccalaureate and doctoral degrees from the University of London, a post-graduate diploma from the Von Karman Institute, Belgium, and a master's degree from Georgia State University. He worked as a research scientist, businessman, and educator. He retired in 1999 as Emeritus Professor from East Tennessee State University. In total Dr. Nash has published 15 books and more than 150 papers and articles in multiple fields. His interests include organ and choral music.
For more than 40 years, Dr. Nash has studied religious philosophy, published articles, made presentations, and led numerous workshops in the United States and Europe. He has also served as a spiritual counselor, corresponding with students throughout the world. His books include Quest for the Soul and The Soul and Its Destiny., both published in 2004, and Christianity: the One, the Many, published in 2007. The Sacramental Church was published in 2011. He coordinated a healing ministry in Atlanta and now serves as a traditional Usui Reiki Master in the Tri-Cities area of East Tennessee. He also serves as Vice President of the School for Esoteric Studies. John is an Episcopalian and, for a few years, was a member of St. Mary's Parish, Asheville, North Carolina, which identifies with the Anglo-Catholic liturgical tradition. He now belongs to St John's Episcopal Church in Johnson City, Tennessee.
John Nash is committed to the second-ray work of teaching and healing, to fifth-ray scholarship, and to seventh-ray ceremony. For many years he has studied the works of the Tibetan Master, Djwhal Khul, but has also studied the Kabbalah in some depth. His current interest is esoteric Christianity. He founded and for four years served as editor-in-chief of The Esoteric Quarterly, an online, peer-review journal dedicated to esoteric philosophy and its applications.
A Personal Testimony
In recent years I have been drawn to the Paths of Ceremony, Knowledge and Healing––while Sylvia Lagergren has followed the Paths of Service and Healing.
In the early 1970s I became interested in the esoteric traditions of east and west. Particularly meaningful were the Kabbalah, central to the western esoteric tradition, and the various branches of theosophy which brought important aspects of the eastern tradition within reach of a western audience. In addition to the teachers of the Theosophical Society, I was strongly influenced by the works of Alice Bailey who served as the primary amanuensis for the Tibetan Master Djwhal Khul. My articles on Sanat Kumara, the solar angel, and the human soul, the seven rays; my several recent articles on esoteric Christianity; and my book The Soul and Its Destiny, describe what I learned.
In my writing I sense frequent contact with sources of knowledge beyond my own mind. Much of this knowledge comes from the collective consciousness of the group with which I work, but some seems to come from higher sources. Perhaps I am glimpsing the method, which we understand is being used increasingly by the Planetary Hierarchy, in which individuals and groups are "overshadowed" by the Masters and their senior disciples:
The overshadowing of the chela during his work (such as lecturing, writing, or teaching), and his illumination for service. He will be conscious of this, though perhaps unable to explain it, and will seek more and more to be available for use, rendering himself up in utter selflessness to the inspiration of His Lord. This is effected via the chela's Ego, the force flowing through his astral permanent atom; and it is only possible when the fifth petal is unfolded. [Alice A. Bailey, A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, Lucis, 1925, 757.]I was raised a Christian but severed formal links in early adulthood. Thereafter, my religious quest was varied and exciting, providing a wealth of experience inside and outside Christianity. I came to value the spiritual quest, with all its uncertainties, dead ends, and unexpected epiphanies, more than the comfort of spiritual stasis. Although my spiritual journey took many turns, certain ongoing themes provided continuity: strong social conscience, acceptance of diversity, a commitment to intellectual integrity and humility, and a deep reverence for the sacred. I also acquired a strong belief in the overarching, unifying archetype referred to in Christianity: the One, the Many as the "Ekklesia." For more than thirty years I have been involved in spiritual counseling and healing.
John Nash
Copyright © 2007-2012, John F. Nash. All rights reserved.
